In the state of Washington, as long as the child is 18 years of age or younger, he or she can be home schooled. In order for a parent to be an instructor in Washington, the parent needs to follow certain guidelines dependent upon which home schooling option is chosen.
In order to be eligible to home school in Washington, certain subjects need to be included on the curriculum. These studies include reading, writing, spelling, occupational education, science, math, language, social studies, history, health, and the development of an appreciation of art and music.
There are two options for home schooling in Washington; the first being to qualify under the home school statute. In order to qualify, make sure the instruction includes a curriculum of the aforementioned skills, as well as planned and supervised educational activities. Parents must provide instruction equal to 180 days or 1,000 hours. A parent can only instruct his child and either be supervised by a certificated person, have 45 college quarters credits or the equivalent in semester credits, have completed a course in home-based education, or be approved by the superintendent of the local school district. As of early 2010, parents must file an annual signed declaration of intent to home school annually by September 15.
The other option for home schooling is to operate under an extension of a private school, classifying your child as a private school student. In this instance, a parent must only instruct his or her own child, while being supervised by a certificated person.
If complying with the first option of the home school statute, the parent must make sure that a state board approved test is given to the child annually by an approved person or have a certificated person evaluate the child. Neither results are to be given to the public school system; the parent is to keep the results as a part of the child's permanent record. If under the second option, the student's progress must be evaluated by a certificated person.